The Waikato golfer Jim Cusdin and Queensland's Brad Kennedy are the joint leaders after the opening round of the New Zealand Golf Open at Clearwater near Christchurch.
The pair carded four under par rounds of 68, with Hawkes Bay's Doug Holloway a shot further back in a share of third place with Australian Leigh McKechnie.
Tournament drawcard, the 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell slumped to a five over par opening round 77.
